HP has told Bloomberg reporter Dina Bass that the company has no plans to sell ARM-based Windows 8 tablets initially (thanks, The Verge) - it will only do x86 tablets. This may actually explain why Microsoft is getting into the business of selling its own tablets: other than Asus, not a single company has announced a Windows ARM tablet. Pretty abysmal start for Windows RT.

To cycle through the apps there should be a key combo like ctrl+right|left arrow.

To cycle through running apps, press Alt-Tab. Same key combination that's been in use since Windows 1.0. After that, you can use the left and right arrows if you prefer. Both Metro and non-Metro apps show up on the window switcher.

To cycle through only Metro apps, press Winkey-Tab.

Do we really have to touch the screen to bring up the search box, type the search with the keyboard, then touch the screen again to start the search?

No, you don't.

To launch apps by searching, press the Windows key and start typing -- just as you've been able to do it since Windows Vista. Then use the arrow keys to select, and Enter to launch.